Nuclear veterans fight on after MoD victory

Published on Monday 22 November 2010 14:27

British veterans involved in Cold War nuclear tests in the 1950s will take their case for compensation to the Supreme Court after the Ministry of Defence won the bulk of its appeal against their claims for damages.

The Court of Appeal in London ruled that nine out of ten test cases could not continue, while the tenth, that of the late Bert Sinfield, could proceed to trial.

The servicemen blame their ill-health, including cancer, skin defects and fertility problems, on involvement in Britain's nuclear tests on the Australian mainland, Monte Bello islands and Christmas Island between 1952 and 1958.

The MoD acknowledges its "debt of gratitude" but denies negligence and fought the cases on the point that they were all launched outside the legal time limit.

In June 2009, High Court judge Mr Justice Foskett ruled that ten test cases out of 1,011 claims could proceed to full trial.

But yesterday Lady Justice Smith, Lord Justice Leveson and Sir Mark Waller said only one could continue.

The judges said there was no evidence by which the veterans could hope to prove that their illnesses had probably been caused by radiation exposure.

The veterans' solicitor Neil Sampson said: "The court has decided that one lead claimant can proceed to trial but nine cannot.

"We are digesting the full judgment and anticipate making an application to the Supreme Court to overturn today's decision."

Mr Sinfield was 20 when he saw four nuclear explosions and joined scientists testing fish for radiation.

He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 40 years later.

Doctors said it was likely to be linked to radiation, but the Government threw out the claim.

Mr Sinfield died in 2007 aged 69. His widow, Jean, is fighting his case.

Mrs Sinfield said: "I'm disappointed for all the other cases that lost. This is a setback but it has strengthened us as a group and as a result of this, we resolve to fight on."

Andrew Robathan, minister for defence personnel, welfare and veterans, welcomed the judgment.

"While I have tremendous sympathy with anyone who is ill, the court accepted arguments that the general merits of the claims were extremely weak and said that the claimants had produced no evidence to link illnesses with attendance at the nuclear tests," he said.

"Compensation in the form of a war pension is available to all former members of HM Forces suffering from an illness or injury attributable to service," he added.

The US has awarded compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to veterans, including at least one Briton, involved in nuclear testing in the 1960s.Roy Prescott, of Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, was given 40,000 in 2006.

And in France last year, the government agreed to compensate those who contracted illnesses attributed to the country's nuclear tests in the Sahara and French Polynesia between 1960 and 1996.

But British veterans Ken McGinley from Renfrewshire and Edward Egan from Glasgow were twice defeated when they applied to the European Court of Human Rights to find out if the government of the day had violated their human rights.

However, in June last year, the High Court gave the current group of veterans the right to sue the Ministry of Defence.

In 1998, research from Durham University suggested that one in three servicemen died from bone cancers or leukaemia linked to the atomic and hydrogen bomb tests.